Amazon River

Spend an extra day in LimaIE Creative Services Editor Emily Harley spent Thanksgiving on our Amazon River tour! Now she shares thoughts on this unique small-ship adventure aboard La Amatista.

Let me first start by saying, you absolutely MUST fly in to Lima a day early to give yourself time to recover from late flights and to have a day to absorb the parks, architecture and food (yum!). And all of that can be done within a few blocks of the Swissôtel!

Guests on our September 18 Amazon river tour have already spotted some rarities this week during their daily excursions, including a Hawk Eagle and River Otters! Everyone at the home office hope the lucky folks aboard La Amatista have more extraordinary sightings.

Giant River Otter Facts: This South American River Otter is the world's largest - up to six feet long - and only lives in the rivers and creeks of the Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata river systems.

International Expeditions’ 30th Anniversary issue of Environs – our nature travel guide – is now in the mail! In keeping with our longstanding commitment to doing our part for a greener world, we’ve taken steps to ensure our annual catalog is as eco-friendly as possible.

We’ve condensed our tour information and added more details to the IE Travel web, allowing us to reduce our publication by almost 50 pages.

During our Amazon Voyage, we explore the Pacaya River, in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the heart of the Amazon. International Expeditions supports a Yellow Spotted River Turtle project in the reserve. This project protects the eggs of these endangered turtles until they are hatched, then reintroduces the turtles in the Pacaya-Samiria.

Travel Planner Charlie Weaver (shown here in Patagonia) has spent the past seven days on International Expeditions' Amazon River cruise and has cell service as La Amatista heads back toward Iquitos (go figure!).

11:00 a.m.:Our excursions are amazing! We have seen lots of pink dolphins, blue-and-gold macaws, hoatzins, a chestnut-eared araçari, an emerald tree boa, a fer-de-lance and numerous other birds.